


Time for Tea

by jdjunkie



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Comment Fic, Gen, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 12:58:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1745471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jdjunkie/pseuds/jdjunkie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking tea with her aunt is a ritual she has come to love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time for Tea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Paian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paian/gifts).



> Promptfic written for paian, who asked for: Catherine and Sabrina, tea

Sabrina pours the boiling water into the pot and watches the tea leaves dance and swirl. Carefully, she places the lid on the fine china teapot and sits back for the three minutes that will allow the brew to steep to perfection.

“This teapot is your favorite, Aunt Catherine. English Royal Worcester. Serendipity, I think you call the design? I always liked that name. It seems to fit you and Uncle Ernest so well. It’s a very plain teapot, compared to some. But like you always say, there is beauty in simplicity. It’s a beautiful pot.”

Sabrina arranges the matching cups and saucers on the tray in her aunt’s living room and makes sure the sugar bowl sits just so, with the silver sugar tongs beside it, next to the plate of home-made ginger cookies. She sits down in the armchair and smoothes down her black silk dress. It’s creased. It’s been a long, tiring day.

“I’ve chosen this tea specially. It’s called Lover’s Leap. It’s a black tea from one of the prettiest gardens in Sri Lanka. I’ve seen pictures. It’s lovely. I bought it from that specialist shop you like so much. According to Harold, that’s the man behind the counter, the guy who has the most amazing moustache, you know the one, the tea is an excellent example of the process of ‘the agony of the leaf’. I said that sounded cruel and not very appealing. He explained that it’s where the leaf uncurls and expands quite dramatically. Apparently, it’s light and refreshing, with a hint of lemon. I kind of nodded at him and smiled. I didn’t dare tell him that I chose it because I liked the name.”

She smiles and checks her watch. Thirty seconds to go. It’ll be worth the wait.

“It’s been a long day, Aunt Catherine. Beautiful and sunny, don’t you think? Perfect. Not too hot. Perfect for drinking tea in the afternoon.”

Time’s up. Sabrina places the tea strainer on the first cup and pours the tea slowly, with the kind of reverence it deserves. Then she pours the second cup.

“I met Daniel Jackson today. You’ve spoken of him so often I felt I already knew him. He has very gentle eyes. No bullwhip or pistol, though.” Sabrina blushes a little, and reaches for her cup, taking a careful sip. The tea is hot and delicious. “He said some wonderful things about you; that you have a gift of an endless, open-minded, childlike curiosity. That your contributions to science have changed the world more than most people know.

“I’m not sure what he was talking about. But I’m sure he’s right. I guess I’ll never know your whole story. That's okay, though. I know enough.”

Sabrina takes another sip. The tea _is_ light and refreshing. Fortifying. Reassuring. Taking tea with her aunt is a ritual she has come to love. Afternoons with Aunt Catherine feel like time squirreled away from the demands and rigors of the real world. Aunt Catherine has always had an other-worldly quality about her – slightly mysterious, very intriguing.

“Daniel obviously loves and admires you, which makes him a good guy in my book. He’s kind of handsome, too. How come you’ve never mentioned that?”

The cup rattles in its saucer as Sabrina places it on the table. “I’ll make sure he gets what you want him to have from your collection, and the Langford Foundation is taking care of the rest. Oh, and I gave Dr. Jackson the amulet. He was reluctant but I insisted. It obviously means a lot to him.”

Sabrina closes her eyes and sits for a moment, enjoying the quiet. The house is empty now, everyone gone. The late-afternoon chatter about her aunt had been a balm to her aching heart. So much love in this place, for her aunt and for Ernest. So much love ... But now, it’s time for her to leave, too.

She rises from her chair and takes a long, affectionate look around the room, which is full of artefacts and photographs. They speak of moments of a live lived, of a man loved and lost and found again.

“I have to go now.” He voice breaks and she stops, swallowing hard, but she gathers herself and after moment is able to carry on. Aunt Catherine would expect no less. “Thanks for the tea, Aunt Catherine. Thanks for everything.”

She picks up the tray, carries it out to the kitchen and rinses the pot and cups and saucers, putting them away safely.

Slowly, Sabrina walks from room to room, touching the fabric of the curtains, the upholstery, running fingers over lovingly crafted and restored tables. She soaks it all up. She loves this place. She loves her aunt.

As the front door closes behind her, Sabrina knows it won’t be the last time she sees this house or walks through its rooms, but somehow she knows today’s leaving will be the hardest of all.

 

ends


End file.
